A stay at Imperial College.

This month, Mike Fletcher checks out the budget-end of accommodation in the UK capital with a stay at Imperial College.

London is awash with group accommodation that fits the lower end of the budget. None more so than the many academic venues who offer a well-known secret during out-of-term holidays - quality accommodation at affordable rates. 

To test out this secret, I headed to Imperial College for a stay at 170 Queens Gate - a stunning Grade II-listed Victorian town house, which was completed in 1889 by Norman Shaw, one of the most important architects of the 19th Century. 
The South Kensington location is perfect for incentive groups wanting to take in the neighbouring Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A. On arrival, you’ll need to collect the key from a security control room in the main college building and there’s none of the concierge or porter services associated with the London hotel scene. But groups are allowed access to Imperial Col-lege’s on-site sports centre Ethos so guests can use the 25-metre swimming pool complete with sauna, steam room, spa and fitness gym, plus the sports hall for badminton along with three squash courts. I can’t think of a single London hotel that has those kinds of onsite leisure facilities.

The accommodation itself was a basement two-bedroom flat with a fully-fitted kitchen, modern in-terior with period features, plasma TVs in both bedrooms and the main living area, plus entrance alarm and Wifi. This is not how I lived as a university student, there wasn’t a mouse-trap, unidenti-fied carpet stain or broken bed spring in sight. 
In the main house there’s a choice of modern and stylish bedrooms with private bathrooms and one or two bedroom ensuite apartments. But I wouldn’t have swapped our basement flat below. It was more comfortable than many of the star-rated hotels I’ve stayed in and we could barely hear the London traffic outside. 

170 Queens Gate is offered by London University Rooms, part of the University Rooms Group. Out of term-time, business travellers and groups have access to affordable accommodation that starts from £32 a night and ranges from self-catered rooms in the heart of desirable Chelsea to short-stay B&B flats in leafy Bloomsbury. With high standards that match the one I experienced at Imperial, you don’t need a college education to know that that’s a superb alternative to a cheap hotel.